Brig. Gen. Francis visits Fort Bragg, discusses loss prevention

Thursday

Nov 2, 2017 at 11:41 AM

Emily Sussman

“I was selected as the commander as the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center and the director of Army Safety, and so that is now my mission in life, is to help commanders prevent loss,” explained. Brig. Gen. David J. Francis, U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center. Francis made his way around Fort Bragg, Oct. 25, meeting with senior leaders from U.S. Army Forces Command, XVIII Airborne Corps, and the 82nd Airborne Division and engaging with uniformed and civilian safety personnel. The purpose of Francis’ visit was to operationalize safety and provide value added for commanders, explained Capt. Peter J. Lofreddo. Francis spoke to a group of safety officers over lunch at McKellar’s Lodge, where he explained a three-pronged approach for the improvement of Army Safety.According to Francis, the first thing that Army Safety is focused on is revising safety policy and streamlining policy to make it more executable for commanders. The second Army Safety focus is the development of the Army and Safety Occupational Health Enterprise Information Management System, or ASOHEIMS.“What that big name is going to do is make it easier for commanders to use it to report, and use it to analyze safety data. At the end of the day that is what we are trying to do, to prevent loss,” explained Francis.Finally, the third focus is a revamp of safety training, including institutional, self-development and operational training.“The whole intent behind that is to allow them (safety officers) to continue to progress throughout their career, for both our uniformed and civilian safety professionals,” said Francis.Additional topics discussed during the safety officer round-table at McKellar’s Lodge included bridging the age gap with the inclusion of new technologies for safety professionals, and the importance of maintaining relevance to commanders in order to better assist them. “If we aren’t enabling our command to increase readiness then we are failing,” said Francis.